Sisters of Mercy to open Doors of Mercy and engage in year-long reflection process

In a media release, the Sisters of Mercy worldwide are invited to enter into a year-long, reflection process as The Year of Mercy is welcomed with a symbolic opening of a local door of Mercy.

8 December 2015 marks the beginning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis for the whole Catholic Church.

For Sisters of Mercy and our partners-in-Mercy, the proclamation of this year provides us with a profound call to explore Mercy anew.

On Sunday 13 December when the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran is opened by Pope Francis, the Door of 64A Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, the first House of Mercy founded by Catherine McAuley in 1827, now known as Mercy International Centre, will be opened by Mary Reynolds rsm, Executive Director of Mercy International Association (MIA).

That same day, across the Mercy world, in the 44 countries on six continents where Sisters of Mercy serve, our Mercy communities and ministries have been invited to open a local door of Mercy using a common ritual prepared for the occasion and to reflect on three key questions during the ritual:

 What door do we hope Mercy will open in the coming year?

 What threshold does Mercy need to cross?

 What door of Mercy can you open?

The Pope’s call to ‘contemplate the mystery of mercy’ also signals for us the commencement of a year-long reflection process which will be our shared Mercy activity.

From 8 December 2015 until 12 December 2016 when we celebrate the Foundation of the Mercy Order by Catherine McAuley in 1831, all associated with the Sisters of Mercy, including 7,000 Sisters, 5000 Associates and 250,000 employees, have been invited to enter into a four-stage action-reflection process. This Mercy International Reflection Process (MIRP) provides us with an opportunity to discern together globally a shared response to the urgency of the 'cry of the Earth and the cry of the Poor' that we hear daily and which Pope Francis has set before us in his encyclical, Laudato Si' (LS #49).

Mary Reynolds rsm, echoing the call of Pope Francis said ‘My hope, as we open Doors of Mercy around the world to inaugurate the Jubilee Year, is that by crossing the threshold of these doors, we will find the strength to embrace God’s mercy and to dedicate ourselves anew to being merciful with others as the God of Mercy is with us.’